It is a common practice to preassemble the electromagnetic fuel injectors on the fuel rails of an internal combustion engine prior to the time the fuel rail is attached to the engine. A problem arose when the fuel injector-rail assembly was hung on a conveyor for transport to the engine assembly point. While being so conveyed the fuel injector-rail assembly was subjected to constant jarring and as a result some of the fuel injectors would fall out of their sockets along the way due to the fact that they were held in place only by the frictional engagement between the sockets and the "O" ring seals around the socket nose ends of the injectors. Injectors were damaged and lost along the way but an even greater problem was the costly production delays resulting from the missing fuel injectors at the final point of assembly.
Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to solve the problem by providing a simple low cost spring clip which will effectively prevent accidental dislodgement of the fuel injectors from the fuel injector-rail assembly. It is another object to provide a spring clip which can be readily attached to the nose of the socket end of a fuel injector, inserted into an injector socket of a fuel rail and latched into place by spring fingers which protrude through a fuel port or outlet aperture in the head of the socket. It is still another object to provide such a spring clip which remains on the socket nose end of the injector when the injector is removed intentionally from the fuel rail.